A true carbon dioxide sensor thatcan detect CO2 levels between 400 and5,000 ppm, mounted on a Breakout Gardenand Qw/ST-compatible breakout.

The SCD41 is a high accuracy sensor that usesphotoacoustic technologytotell you the precise proportion ofcarbon dioxide(in ppm) in the air that you’re breathing. It can also measuretemperature and relative humidity.

Too much carbon dioxide has all sorts of unpleasant effects on humans, such as turning up your tiredness levels and turning down your brainpower. CO2 build-up is a useful indicator ofhow well ventilated a space isand also how many people are breathing the same air – a variable that’s definitely worth tracking in homes, workplaces and schools at the moment. SCD41 is theextended rangevariant of this sensor which means it can detect very high levels of CO2 at up to 5,000 ppm, so it couldpotentially also be useful in industrial and laboratory settings.

We’ve been testing out this sensor in confined areas and it’s remarkable how sensitive it is – you can really see the change in CO2 levels when someone enters or leaves a room, or when doors are open or closed.

This breakout is compatible with our fancyBreakout Gardensystem, where using breakouts is as easy just popping it into one of the slots and starting to grow your project, create, and code.It’s alsoQw/ST compatiblesoit can be plugged into a whole range of differentmicrocontrollers and HATswith Qwiic or STEMMA QT connectors.

Check out our full range of Breakout’s and Breakout Garden’shere

Features

• Sensiron SCD41 carbon dioxide sensor (datasheet)
• Photoacoustic sensor technology PASens
• High accuracy: (40 ppm + 5 %)
• Range:400 ppm 5,000 ppm
• I2C interface, with address: 0x62
• Qwiic/STEMMA QT connector
• 3-5V compatible
• Reverse polarity protection (on Breakout Garden connector)
• Raspberry Pi-compatible pinout (pins 1, 3, 5, 7, 9)
• Compatible with Raspberry Pi (Python library)
• Compatible with Raspberry Pi Pico (C++/MicroPython libraries)
• Schematic

Kit includes

• SCD41breakout
• 1×5 male header
• 1×5 female right angle header

We’ve designed this breakout board so that you can solder on the piece of right-angle female header and pop it straight onto the bottom left 5 pins on your Raspberry Pi’s GPIO header (pins 1, 3, 5, 7, 9). The right-angle header also has the advantage of positioning the breakout away from the Pi’s CPU so as to minimise radiated heat.

Software

We’ve put together aPython librarytogether with examples showing you how to get readings from the sensor.

You can also use this breakout with Raspberry Pi Pico and otherRP2040 boards,usingC++or Pirate brand MicroPython.

Notes

• Dimensions: approx 24mm x 21mm x 8mm (L x W x H, including sensor)